Saints Row: Sunshine Springs DLC
I was Art Director on Saints Row (2022) and was responsible for developing the high level art direction for the game including the world of Santo Ileso and its varied districts.
I had the opportunity to work with some amazingly talented Associate Art Directors, Art Leads, and artists, both internal and external, to develop the concepts and ideas below to define and describe the world of Santo Ileso.
Sunshine Springs was our first DLC district added to the far eastern part of the map. I worked to generate the base themes and direction for the district, before handing it off to James Taylor who developed the direction further and took it to completion.
Sunshine Springs was inspired by real world Palm Springs, which mixes mid-century modern architecture, classic hollywood show business themes, and a striking desert environment. We used many of those themes and adapted them to fit the location in our world, which consisted of beautiful red rock mesas. Havasu Falls in Arizona was the inspiration for the natural waterfall centerpiece for the district.
Early mood piece to develop the look of Sunshine Springs. Concept by Josh Norman.
Internal 'poster' used for pitching various concepts. I created the characters. Background by Josh Norman. Typography and layout by James Taylor.
Concept for centerpiece of the district, the waterfall by Josh Norman. The goal here was to create something iconic for the district by blending mid-century modern architecture with waterfalls.
Early direction sketch for Sunshine Springs. When beginning a new district, a sketch like this provides a starting point where Level Designers and Artists can start planning.
Hotel concept by Josh Norman.
My direction sketch for the concept jobsheet. After agreeing on basic direction with stakeholders, we move on to fleshing out important locations and landmarks. This begins the concept phase for those spaces.
My direction sketch with callouts. Here I was blending mid-century modern with modern Pueblo revival to create something unique that fit the district.
Concept for Moonrise Cinema by Josh Norman.
My direction sketch for the classic movie theater in the district. It's a combination of a variety of architectural features and some landmarks from the era.
My direction sketch with callout notes for reference used. I had a great time researching and exploring options to create the initial idea for the building.
Concept for Chicken Neds by Josh Norman.
My early direction sketch and reference for what came to be 'Chicken Neds' restaurant in the district. This was a blast to work on, because I was experimenting with combining some classic architecture elements into one, unique building
Concept for Chicken Ned's car by Josh Norman. We built out an entire brand for Chicken Neds. The player was able to collect a Chicken Ned suit and 'egg' car in the game.
We developed a logo and arch for the district. The logo uses the waterfall as a central motif. Concept by Sperasoft.
Concept of the Sunshine Springs gateway arch. This arch was influenced by the new Las Vegas arch. Concept by Sperasoft.
Screenshot from the game.